File:The ancient cities of the New World - being travels and explorations in Mexico and Central America from 1857-1882 (1887) (14802813033).jpg

Identifier: ancientcitiesofn00char (find matches)
Title: The ancient cities of the New World : being travels and explorations in Mexico and Central America from 1857-1882
Year: 1887 (1880s)
Authors: Charnay, Désiré, 1828-1915
Subjects: Indians of Mexico Indians of Central America
Publisher: London : Chapman and Hall
Contributing Library: Getty Research Institute
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

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state, and thedense vegetation which covers it prevents seeing anything ofthe large figures which presumably occupied its surface; evena photograph is difficult to get, for want of sufficient space, andthe one we give is not a success. Three other temples are found on a plateau, some 200 yardssouth-east of the palace at the foot of Cerro Alto. First inorder is a small temple of the Sun, in a perfect state of preser-vation; the front measures 38 feet by 27 feet deep. Thepilasters, the roof, and superstructure, were all covered withsculptures and complicated decorations. Any one who isacquainted with sacred Japanese architecture would be struckwith the resemblance of this temple to a Japanese sanctuary;and this is very clearly seen in our cut. How is this to beexplained ? A theory might be started with respect to theprobable Asiatic origin of the Toltec tribes; of the influenceof a Japanese civilisation, through the steady traffic they formerly 2 so The Ancient Cities of the New World.
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TEMri.E OF THE SUN, PALENQUE. carried on, on the coast north-west of America, as also byfortuitous immigrations resulting from shipwrecks. In thepresent day, the average of Japanese vessels shipwrecked on Palenque. Temples. 2=;i the Californian coast is only two a year. However it may be,we will for the present leave to others the task of elucidatingthe question of origin. The interior of the temple is a large room, receiving its light through three aper- _____ _^ tures in the fa9ade ;the end is occupiedby a sanctuary, andeach side by a smalldark room. Thesanctuary is a kindof oblong taber-nacle, crowned witha richly decoratedfrieze and stuccoedmouldino^s. Twopilasters supportedthe roof, and for-merly were coveredwith inscriptions orsculptured slabs re-presenting varioussubjects ; theseBags have beenbroken or takenaway, and not oneremains in loco. Those which were in the Temple of the Cross No. i, havealready been described and a drawing given. The end of thesanctuary is occupied by t

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